PHF. They play at Richfield Ice Arena in Richfield. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Eveleth, on the Iron Range. Soccer Minnesota United FC is a Major League Soccer team that was founded in 2010 as the NSC Minnesota Stars. In 2013, the club rebranded with a new crest and a new name, Minnesota United FC. In 2010 when the club was founded, it began to play in North American Soccer League in the second tier of US Soccer. In March 2015, MLS announced that Minnesota United had been awarded an expansion spot in MLS. The team continued to compete in the NASL until the 2017 season when Minnesota United began to compete in MLS. This marked the introduction of top division soccer to Minnesota since the Minnesota Kicks dissolved in 1981. Minnesota United currently plays its home games at Allianz Field in Saint Paul. Minnesota United is nicknamed "the Loons" after Minnesota's state bird, the common loon. Notable players for Minnesota United include Kevin Molino, Darwin Quintero, Osvaldo Alonso, and Miguel Ibarra. The Thunder were a USL First Division team founded in 1992 as an amateur men's team, then joined the USL in 1994, and won the championship of what was then the A-League in 1999. Notable former players include Tony Sanneh and Manuel Lagos. The Minnesota Lightning were a W-League team founded in 2006. They also played at the National Sports Center. The team folded after the 2009 season. The newest addition to Minnesota sports, the Minnesota Aurora FC are a USL W League team founded in 2021 and began play in May 2022. Table of professional teams Current teams Former Minnesota teams Other professional and semi-pro sports Bandy Bandy has been played on a regular basis in the United States since the early 1980s and the game is most popular in Minnesota, where the winter climate makes it possible to play outdoors for many months a year. Most games in the American Bandy League are played at the Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval and most of the national champions are teams from the state, like Minneapolis Bandolier, Dynamo Duluth, Minnesota Blades, and Sirius Minnesota. The Bandolier are the most successful team in the United States, having been crowned United States champions ten times as of 2014. Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval was also the main venue of the 1995 Bandy World Championship and the